For all you guys out there who have some time to spend why not try doing stand up comedy? I'm surprised that this topic hasn't been addressed yet in the forum. It's a great way to improve a lot of different aspects of yourself such as: public speaking skills, confidence, sense of humor, etc. Also, you get paid if you're good. If you're great, who knows, you could end up being a professional stand up comedian. It could be your ticket to success.

There are plenty of forum members here who I know would kill at stand up. The insight that a lot of members here have would be very entertaining and appreciated by the men of our emasculated society.

So if you're a funny, insightful guy with some free time you should give stand up a chance.

Quote: (03-31-2013 01:59 PM)RCP Wrote:  

For all you guys out there who have some time to spend why not try doing stand up comedy? I'm surprised that this topic hasn't been addressed yet in the forum. It's a great way to improve a lot of different aspects of yourself such as: public speaking skills, confidence, sense of humor, etc. Also, you get paid if you're good. If you're great, who knows, you could end up being a professional stand up comedian. It could be your ticket to success.

There are plenty of forum members here who I know would kill at stand up. The insight that a lot of members here have would be very entertaining and appreciated by the men of our emasculated society.

So if you're a funny, insightful guy with some free time you should give stand up a chance.

How do you get started in stand-up comedy? Going to open-mic nights?

We actually have a Mayor here in Wa state of a small town that his side gig is being a comedian. He has received some blow back from property owners saying that by him being a comedian it is hurting their property values.

He goes by the name Mayor Wanna

He holds a medical marijuana card as well as being mayor.

I've been wanting to do an open mix night thing for a while. I will have some one film it for sure of I do.

I actually considered trying this out in my spare time, mentioned it to a wingman of mine. Does anyone have any experience with this?

Depending on where you are, you can find classes for a few hundred bones. Or you can write up some material and practice at open mic nights.

I was banging a girl who said she hung out with a bunch of comedians, but she never said anything about them getting tons of pussy. Still, they almost assuredly weren't players to begin with anyway.

I took an improv class and mostly hated it. I thought I wrote about it here but I can't locate it. Basically, the humor was very weird, off-beat, and not something that I'd use in conversation. Plus, it was very rarely funny. Even the teacher, a woman, was no good - there was one guy who was. Improv overall is just very dorky. I love standup though, and standup comedians often do great spontaneous bits, eg when interacting with the crowd. The most valuable comedy rule from improv is to always say, "yes, and" - if someone is making a joke or roleplaying, take what they say as a given, and continue your comedy within the contours of what they've set. If someone says you're a fireman, don't go and say that you're a lawyer. Work with what you're given. It's a lot more pleasant and a lot less defensive in conversation. Just found this via Google: http://99u.com/articles/7183/the-yes-and...ossibility

Texas: Exactly. Look up local comedy clubs that offer open-mic nights around where you live and then ask/sign up to perform. If you have good material and perform well you may be invited to perform at higher end comedy clubs. You could also perform at other clubs or even bars if they have a stage.

Basil: I'm currently not in stand up but I'm planning on performing very soon. Also, thanks for sharing that advice you got from improv.

Although not a lot of stand up comedians are players, stand up certainly allows you to be on a platform that you can use to game.

Some quick examples:










Just show that you're a funny, interesting guy who has a lot of fun, and play with some cute girl during your set. After the show's over you talk to her (or she'll come up to you) then you set up a date.

I've heard Joe Rogan talk about becoming a comedian on his podcast since he does stand-up comedy. I don't know how easy or hard it is to get a spot on an "open-mic" night, but I notice on his show a lot of stand-up comedians he interviews seem to have had a friend who is already a stand-up comedian who gave them inside knowledge and coaching.

Quote: (03-31-2013 02:29 PM)basilransom Wrote:  

I was banging a girl who said she hung out with a bunch of comedians, but she never said anything about them getting tons of pussy. Still, they almost assuredly weren't players to begin with anyway.

Brian Redban says he gets pussy from being a comedian and he lives in LA, but that is probably mostly due to his also co-hosting the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast. I'm pretty sure you could get pussy from doing stand-up if you got somewhat known and did it right (i.e., also had a podcast and plenty of social media).

If your going to "make it" you need to be living in a area like LA or New York City but you can start out anywhere as long as it has an open mic night at a comedy store or local bar. Apparently it takes good comedians anywhere from a year or a couple years to build up to a hour long show so starting out in the biz with only 5 minutes of material is normal.

I wouldnt be surprised if there are not comedians right now looking at this forum for material. Than said, Bill Burr if your reading this keep up the good work.

Quote: (03-31-2013 02:43 PM)The Texas Prophet Wrote:  

Quote: (03-31-2013 02:29 PM)basilransom Wrote:  

I was banging a girl who said she hung out with a bunch of comedians, but she never said anything about them getting tons of pussy. Still, they almost assuredly weren't players to begin with anyway.

Brian Redban says he gets pussy from being a comedian and he lives in LA, but that is probably mostly due to his also co-hosting the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast. I'm pretty sure you could get pussy from doing stand-up if you got somewhat known and did it right (i.e., also had a podcast and plenty of social media).

Well I talked to one guy at a weekly comedy night, the last and funniest comic, dude was funny as hell, but he had some crippling insecurities, so it's hard to tell.

The social media thing is a long-term play and probably not worth it if you enjoy it. I'm talking about doing a set at the bar and then hanging around afterwards and approaching girls (very casually) or letting them approach you.

Also, you could go to good standup and steal their bits to use on girls and get laid.

Check to see if there is an "Improv" in your town. Improv is a "chain" comedy club with locations in a lot of major cities.

A while back one of my buddy's lost his job and started taking comedy "classes" at The Improv in Coconut Grove (Miami). It was a nominal fee and they helped you start your creative process, overcome stage fright, how to open the crowd etc...

To support my friend, and have fun, I would attend the comedy shows they put on weekly. It was free (buy 2 drinks) and the crowd was all friends of the 15-20 people in the class. It was good fun, and a good scene. There were plenty of cute girls around and a super easy social scene to ease into.

I've been thinking about getting into this

I did stand-up in Argentina in Spanish, was nerve-wracking and intense, but wanted to face that fear. It went well. I think a lot of times people do really well the first time they do it - all that nervous energy can push you and translate well on stage, then the next couple times they suck and feel like they plateau. Do an open mic - get 5 minutes of material together, practice on your friends, practice tongue twisters and such to loosen yourself up, go to an open mic first so you understand how it works and absorb the basic physical stuff - i.e., how not to fuck up the mic stand, if you remove the mic from the stand, move the stand out of your way, don't stand behind it, etc.

I am a natural comedian. My first love will always be writing and reading though;however, I do keep up with trending topics and comment on them as part of my business. I think after a year of daily commentary and research I can have about twenty minutes of material.

It is one of the things I could careless about recognition for. I love making people laugh. I'd be happy to do it for free.

I have tried 2 open mics at home(Ireland) short 5 mins sets very nerve wracking but you are on a real high afterwards especially if you get a few laughs. I was encouraged by a friend to do it which was helpful as I probably wouldn't have done it on my own even though I wanted to for a long time. The Nuances that make you a good comedian are the same as being good at picking up chicks, confidence, timing, humor, Dealing with obstacles(hecklers/bitchy women) and being able to think on your feet when your routine goes downhill.

The best way to start is open Mics, dont tell any one your doing it incase you bail, or they show up and make you nervous/heckle u. Write out a simple 5 minute set, make sure each joke/part has a punch line, so people know to laugh. Could be 5 short stories, 1 min long each with a really good punch line at the end of eac and a few small ones thrown in along the way. write about something you know, online dating experience, friend getting drunk doing something stupid, as it will be easier to write about and talk about when your on stage.

Best of Luck

Quote: (04-01-2013 07:27 PM)jonnyirish Wrote:  

I have tried 2 open mics at home(Ireland) short 5 mins sets very nerve wracking but you are on a real high afterwards especially if you get a few laughs. I was encouraged by a friend to do it which was helpful as I probably wouldn't have done it on my own even though I wanted to for a long time. The Nuances that make you a good comedian are the same as being good at picking up chicks, confidence, timing, humor, Dealing with obstacles(hecklers/bitchy women) and being able to think on your feet when your routine goes downhill.

The best way to start is open Mics, dont tell any one your doing it incase you bail, or they show up and make you nervous/heckle u. Write out a simple 5 minute set, make sure each joke/part has a punch line, so people know to laugh. Could be 5 short stories, 1 min long each with a really good punch line at the end of eac and a few small ones thrown in along the way. write about something you know, online dating experience, friend getting drunk doing something stupid, as it will be easier to write about and talk about when your on stage.

Best of Luck

And practice your ass off. There is a reason why it takes a good bit of time to develop material and practice it for a twenty minute set. I assume those 1 hour HBO specials many headlining comedians get must have taken a year or more to develop.

Hey guys, I love it when someone posts something that I actually have some experience in, yay!


Long story short - after getting really baked one time and watching some standup specials on Netflix, and being surprised that this one person who couldn't entertain me at ALL was actually producing 2 sitcoms on TV. So I thought "shit, I could do that", so the next few weeks I kept writing down whatever funny thought popped into my head, and before I know it - I was hitting the open mics in NYC.


Here are some lessons that I learned:
1. It's waaaaay harder than you think it is.
2. There is some stuff that you might find hysterical, and your friends might find hysterical - but the audience just won't, and sometimes it's because they just CANT connect to the material at all - one of the reasons a guy like Joe Rogan is successful is not only because he is hilarious - but he attracts a certain kind of crowd - a Joe Rogan crowd. Crowds are always a factor.
3. Open mics are depressing - most of them are just other comedians practicing their stuff, most of the crowd is dead. You can have killer material - but the vibe in the room is often not one of laughter.
4. Picking the rights open mics is important - one lady that ran an open mic had a drink included in the ticket price and always asked you to bring 1 friend - a tipsy NEW crowd made all the difference and got you better feedback. On the flip side - if you can make a depressingly dead open mic crowd laugh - you are a star.
5. The high that you get from a good performance is addicting.
6. The low that you get from a bad performance is depressing.
7. The next level of shows are the "bringers" - which means you have to bring several friends with you, usually 5-10. You will run out of friends fast, especially in the early days when you suck, so you might be forced to sell tickets to randoms, this is depressing.
8. You become more aware of everything - interactions, etc. You also become better at explaining stuff to people
9. You become even more non-PC. Remember the Daniel Tosh "scandal"? You respect him more as a comedian then the random non funny critics that just try to bash him. It's beautiful.
10. The second you think you're nice - you'll get baked and watch a legendary comedy special, and be humbled right back the fuck down. It happened to me with Eddie Murphy's Raw - in my opinion, stylistically the single greatest standup special of all time.
11. Comedy really truly is a labor of love - the more you do it, the better you get. The more you do it, the less bad nights you have. the more you do it - the better the reactions, and your confidence skyrockets.


So would I recommend standup? For sure. But I would only recommend it if you have something you want to express and a desire to get it out. Because yes, it will suck. But its so worth it.


Also - manosphere humor gets received pretty well sometimes. For example - one time I was talking about Roosh's "cost per notch", and bragging that mine was in the double digits. Then i said "Which is impressive, because let's face it, it cant go to single digits. You can't be smooth for under 10 dollars ((((sexy r&b voice)))) hey giiirl.... you can have whatever you want... from mcdonalds... off the dollar menu... within reason"

From what I hear you have to deal with a lot of failure and rejection for about ten years before you start getting consistently good... but that's just if you want to go professional.

I did one open-mic but moved to a different city shortly after that and have just started working on some new material to get back at it. Some advice for anyone thinking about it:

- If you can fearlessly approach a beautiful woman, you can definitely do stand-up comedy.

- Scope out a few open mic nights first, some of them offer slots as low as three minutes for new comics. You want to make sure you have three minutes of quality material before you try to go for ten or twelve. Also, shoot the shit with some of the comics, bartenders, anyone until you feel comfortable somewhere and target that joint. If you're outside of one of the really big cities, infiltrating any scene usually isn't too difficult.

- Jot down notes on index cards or on your wrist. I saw plenty of comics with more experience than I had referencing notes. It didn't seem too frowned upon by anyone and alleviates some of the pressure of memorizing everything with a potential Plan B.

- Bring people in! Regardless if the club requires that you bring at least five people or whatever, there's no better way to get the venue and the influential comics on your side than bringing money in the door. When I did it, two of my friends also went up (one was rather practiced, the other one was doing it for the second time), and we brought in at least half the crowd (15-20 people, this was a weeknight in a medium sized city). This made me pretty comfortable on stage and put the audience in our favor from the start. If you plan on performing regularly, try to invite different groups of friends out on different nights/weeks to spread out the love you'll get. A lot the comics in this scene were doing sets a few nights a week, which is great for their material, but obviously friends will lose interest after a certain point. If you can plant some tits and ass in the audience, you'll be a God to some of these nerdy comics.

- It's easy to start knocking back drinks pretty quick if you're nervous and antsy. A few beers and a shot to loosen up should be the maximum before you go up on stage. Reward yourself afterwards if you're a booze hound.

- Hang out and watch all the comics before and after your time slot. This is a common courtesy that can maybe lead to opportunities.

- Don't run your act/jokes by people who will just tell you how good and funny it is. Like with writing, this type of feedback is worthless. You can also find testing ground jokes pretty much anywhere, like work, the bar, impressing a chick, etc.

- A lot of you write, blog, run businesses, and stay in shape, so incorporate all of the useful elements of these things into comedy prep and you should be good to go. Just always be ready to pounce and make a note when you see a potential joke. It's a hilarious world we live in and there is something/someone to make fun of everywhere you look.

I have done stand up. One of the key things is to connect with your audience so that means you need to be vulnerable, which I am not a fan of.

Also, a lot of comedians (almost all) have a pint of view about life and they tell their jokes through that point of view.

I stopped doing stand up because once I realized that I liked picking on people (observing people for flaws to make fun of them), I realized that it would probably just make me a bigger dick and I needed to cut it out. But lately, I have been feeling that urge to do it again.

Also, most people in the clubs "it seems" are chicks. A while back, I got called a misogynist (before this forum), I had to go look up the fucking word. So if you want laughs, I highly advise not calling the women in your gym class a coven of witches.

Keep in mind one day you can kill with a joke and the next time that joke doesn't work at all. Hard to explain. But definitely gotta connect with your audience.

Anyway, have fun.

Quick question:

Do you think that adopting a "stage name" is a good idea? There is a comedy club in the city I am in that does open mics, but people in the audience tend to put up iphone vids of a lot of the sets on youtube. I have a cubicle job, so I don't want my "dirty jokes" easily found during a google search since that could limit employment opportunities if my sets are easily found (especially since I won't even know if I am any good unless I do lots of open mics).

Thoughts?

If I ever become a comedian. I hope my first attempt is as good as this.

Quote: (05-14-2013 12:45 AM)The Texas Prophet Wrote:  

Quick question:

Do you think that adopting a "stage name" is a good idea? There is a comedy club in the city I am in that does open mics, but people in the audience tend to put up iphone vids of a lot of the sets on youtube. I have a cubicle job, so I don't want my "dirty jokes" easily found during a google search since that could limit employment opportunities if my sets are easily found (especially since I won't even know if I am any good unless I do lots of open mics).

Thoughts?

Probably better than going up and being apprehensive about content and censoring yourself. It's kind of lame that people are filming open mics, which are really more for practicing material. At least there's a non-comedian crowd though, that can be rare.

Awesome thread. I have thought about this as well. I think I would have some great material.

Sometimes I teach classes and get practice just doing jokes on them.

I did a true standup one time in front of a crowd of a couple hundred people at a campus competition. I think I did pretty well and got some good laughs, even some real appreciation from the comic judges.

I dunno, what's holding me back from doing some open mic nights? Hmm.... I guess nothing..

Quote: (05-14-2013 12:45 AM)The Texas Prophet Wrote:  

Quick question:

Do you think that adopting a "stage name" is a good idea? There is a comedy club in the city I am in that does open mics, but people in the audience tend to put up iphone vids of a lot of the sets on youtube. I have a cubicle job, so I don't want my "dirty jokes" easily found during a google search since that could limit employment opportunities if my sets are easily found (especially since I won't even know if I am any good unless I do lots of open mics).

Thoughts?

That is my biggest concern honestly. It is hard to be a public school teacher and good comedian. I could go the Bill Cosby route but that would suck.

I really hate this professional image we have to uphold to our employers. It is as if I am living in a dictatorship where I can't even say what I want outside of work. What the fuck.